Quite simply because Chevrolet has never really been sold here, and because it has a better name than Daewoo.

Don't forget that most of the public tend to be a bit stupid in this regard. Lots of them are under the impression that Vauxhall is a British company, and those that realise it's part of GM think that Opel is an offshoot of Vauxhall, not the other way around.

The problem GM will have though, is what they do with the more prestigious models. The Camaro might be a pile of poo, but it's an expensive pile of poo and one or two people here have bought it. Hardly the right car to put in the same product range as a re-badged Daewoo Matiz.

Banco:
Simeon Jewkes biggest flaw was testing the base V6 model. I was refering to the 350cu" V8 powered Camero. The V6 model is the budget option for secretaries.
Perhaps Deltaguy can give an expert assesment of the Cheverolet Camero.

The Top Gear (top UK tv show that tests cars) review of the Mustang was hilarious.

Richard Hammond, the reviewer, tested it on a Roman Road (basically one long road, no bends or anything like that) as he reckoned it was all it was fit for! Taking it into a curve or roundabout would be too scary.

And that was The Gerbil. If Clarkson had done the review....well if anyone saw his piece on the Vauxhall Signum where he filled it up with celery you get the idea....

GM is the same outfit that brought the LeMans name out of retirement to slap it on a crappy little econobox made in SEA somewhere......Instantly alienated many Pontiac owners, and did nothing to help the sales of the`"new" LeMans.

Does anyone else familiar with the British market think that sticking with Daewoo might actually have been a better bet than rebranding under Chevrolet? Chevrolet seems to have something of an outdated soggy-handling American muscle-car image in the UK - not something I'd like to try and sell Matizes and Kaloses under. Or is that just me? With existing GM badge engineering in South America, is Chevrolet just the trophy brand GM is pimping out to all and sundry?

'Course, it's ironic that now the Corvette C6 is coming to the UK, only to be stripped of its Chevrolet badge and sold as a standalone brand

Final thought - Matiz, Kalos, Lacetti and Tacuma just don't sound very American, do they?

My 2000 Dodge Intrepid just became a paperweight due to a catastrophic engine failure of the 2.7L engine. Turns out there's a design/engineering defect that results in massive oil sludge buildup. Daimler-Chrysler won't admit to it and refuses to acknowledge the problem.

As a result, the 2.7L engine has FAILED on owners' vehicles with as FEW AS 36k miles!! And that's with owners who have impeccable service records, changing oil every 3k miles.

The dealerships refuse to fix the problem, their corporate customer care people essentially blamed me for improper mx and for not using full synthetic oil, even though there's no service bulletin that directs people to do so.

Long story short, there's a pending class action lawsuit. Google for Dodge 2.7L engine oil sludge and you'll see what I'm talking about. (ironically, it's the first full-CAD engine from Mitsubishi).

Toyota, VW and Audi all had similar issues and those companies extended the warranties to 100k, no questions asked did all the engine work and as a result, I'm sure many of those owners bought another Toyota, VW or Audi.

That's brand loyalty.

Dodge just screwed the pooch--never again will I nor any of my family members buy a Daimler-Chrysler product.

They say it costs 10 times as much to get a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. So screw them.

But speaking of karma, my wife and I were in the SUV market- just crossed the Durango off the list. My Mom has driven Caravans for years, even as an empty-nester. No more.

So Daimler-Chrysler seems to be doing a stellar job of destroying their brand.

Interestingly Slider, on this side of the Atlantic, the Mercedes part of Daimler-Chrysler is getting increasing levels of complaint about quality issues, both in terms of the fit and finish (including materials used) and reliability.

One of their models even finished bottom of a satisfaction survey out of hundreds of cars.

Banco- I'm not surprised....I would have HOPED that the culture of Daimler-Chrysler would have made the American brand better, but it seems it's dragging down both badges.

The Dodge/Chryslers seem to have taken on a much sharper and keener edge in terms of styling, yet their mechanical relaibility has continued to flag.

And I've heard some anecdotal stuff about Mercedes having quality issues here, but what has been most irritating is the dealership's mentality in handling them--something a buddy of mine who has owned several MBs has noted as a recent change for them.

I'll tell you one brand I'm more than willing to try: Nissan. Once left for dead, Carlos Ghosn led their resurgence. Good quality, sound dealerships, great service. I've read few complaints. It seems everything they touch is turning to gold. Now that my wife and I have crossed the Durango off our list, we're looking at the new Pathfinder. And why buy a Crossfire when you can have a Z?

Daimler-Chrysler is screwing itself and I'll be there to spit on their grave.